Impact of Trichoderma asperellum on Chilling and Drought Stress in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Abstract

The acceleration of climate change is necessitating the adoption of shifts in farming practices and technology to ensure the sustainability of agricultural production and food security. Because abiotic stresses such as drought and chilling represent major constraints on agricultural productivity worldwide, in this study, the mitigation of such stresses by the fungus Trichoderma asperellum HK703 was evaluated. The fungus was grown on whole grain oats, kaolin and vermiculite for 5 days and then the formulation was mixed with the potting soil to colonize the roots of the plants. The effect of the bioinoculant on tomato under drought or chilling was analyzed in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants. Leaf, stem and root succulence, electrolyte leakage, the relative growth rate of plant height, stem thickness and leaf area, as well new leaf emergence and chlorophyll content were determined. The results showed that drought or chilling increased electrolyte leakage and reduced plant growth and development traits and chlorophyll (a,b) content. However, inoculation with T. asperellum eliminated or reduced most of the negative impacts of drought compared to the non-stressed plants, with the exception of chlorophyll b content. Furthermore, inoculation with T. asperellum improved some of the evaluated features in chilling stressed plants but had no effect on plant height or chlorophyll (a,b) content. The results of this study indicate that T. asperellum was more effective in alleviating drought than chilling stress in tomato plants.

Seed bio-priming with beneficial Trichoderma harzianum alleviates cold stress in maize

“…Therefore, the degree of cold tolerance in plants can be specified by measuring the Fv/Fm ratio ( Baker & Rosenqvist, 2004 ). Similarly, Cornejo-Ríos et al. (2021) investigated the effect of tomato seeds pretreatment with Trichoderma on traits such as seedling emergence, leaf number, and growth rate, reporting that each of these studied traits was enhanced by seed inoculation due to an increase in chlorophyll content.…”

Spectroscopic Investigation of Tomato Seed Germination Stimulated by Trichoderma spp.

“…Trichoderma, as biocontrol agents against biotic stress, utilize antagonistic strategies such as competition [8], parasitism [9], and anti-biosis [10]. Trichoderma also help plants in alleviating abiotic stress effects such as drought [11][12][13], salinity [14,15], the presence of toxic metals [16,17], and low temperature [12,18]. The means through which Trichoderma stimulate plant growth and yield include the synthesis of phytohormones, its influence on nutrient availability and uptake, and the stimulation of plant growth through secondary metabolites [19,20].…”

Promotion of Plant Growth in Arid Zones by Selected Trichoderma spp. Strains with Adaptation Plasticity to Alkaline pH

“…Anthropogenic activities cause soil-limiting conditions; places are susceptible to becoming arid and semi-arid zones characterized by low or no bioavailable organic matter and limited nutrient content [ 1 ]. In these places, drought is the result of the adverse effects of global warming, and the onset of these factors determines the low yield of agricultural production [ 2 ]. In these areas, live plants that adapt to adverse biotic and abiotic conditions assisted by microorganisms are called plant microbiota [ 3 ] and are formed of bacteria, fungi, and archaea that have adjusted their physiology to environmental demands.…”